JAM: June/July 2004 Issue: News From The Archive

The Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History Collection

Noted jazz historian and photo collector, Frank Driggs recently gave his collection of oral histories to the Marr Sound Archives.

A child of the Great Depression, author and music historian Driggs first became enamored with jazz and swing while listening to late night broadcasts from hotels and ballrooms. After graduating from Princeton in 1952, Driggs moved to Manhattan where he joined with Marshall Stearns and other jazz scholars in documenting the history of jazz. Realizing the importance of preserving the eyewitness accounts of those who pioneered the jazz tradition, Driggs began recording oral histories of early jazz musicians. The musicians interviewed often gave or lent Driggs scrapbooks, photos and memorabilia, which he lovingly archived.

The interviews and photos, widely published in Jazz Review and other publications, caught the eye of impresario John Hammond, who hired Driggs to produce reissues and new releases of American roots music for Columbia records. Digging deep into the vaults of Columbia , Driggs produced the first LP reissues of delta blues legend Robert Johnson. After leaving Columbia , Driggs went on to produce recordings for Epic, Okeh, MCA, Stash, and Time-Life Records, before reviving the Bluebird label for RCA Victor in the early 1970s.

During his 25 years in the business, Driggs won several Record of the Year awards, capped in 1991 by a Grammy for Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings . All the while, Driggs continued documenting the evolution of jazz by recording oral histories and collecting photos, amassing a collection of well over 100,000 images.

Over the years, Driggs has published widely and penned liner notes for hundreds of recordings. He contributed the chapter on Kansas City and Southwestern jazz for Nat Hentoff's and Albert J. McCarthy's landmark jazz history Jazz: New Perspectives on the History of Jazz by Twelve of the World's Foremost Jazz Critics and Scholars . In 1982, Driggs, along with Harris Lewine, published Black Beauty, White Heat , a striking pictorial history of jazz culled from Drigg's collection. Countless researchers, publishers and record companies have drawn upon Drigg's massive collection of photos and memorabilia. Most recently, Driggs and his collection served as the principal resource for Ken Burn's Jazz , a history of jazz, broadcast by PBS.

The oral histories donated to the Archives were conducted from 1956 to 1986. A host of musicians and band leaders who defined the jazz tradition relate stories regarding the development of jazz, ranging from musical triumphs to hardships on the road during the Great Depression. The collection is rich in oral histories from the likes of Andy Kirk, Buster Smith Gene Ramey, Thamon Hayes, Jesse Stone and Ed Lewis, a reflection of Drigg's interest in Southwestern and Kansas City jazz. Many of the oral histories in the Driggs collection survive as the only known record of a musician's experiences and voice.

The 375 oral histories, housed in the Marr Sound Archives, have been inventoried and are available to the public. The inventory is available on line at http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/marr.html For information about the Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History Collection contact Chuck Haddix, Marr Sound Archives, Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 800 E. 51st Street , Kansas City , MO 64110 , (816) 235-2798, haddixc@umkc.edu.






	Search our site:		The Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History Collection Noted jazz historian and photo collector, Frank Driggs recently gave his collection of oral histories to the Marr Sound Archives. A child of the Great Depression, author and music historian Driggs first became enamored with jazz and swing while listening to late night broadcasts from hotels and ballrooms. After graduating from Princeton in 1952, Driggs moved to Manhattan where he joined with Marshall Stearns and other jazz scholars in documenting the history of jazz. Realizing the importance of preserving the eyewitness accounts of those who pioneered the jazz tradition, Driggs began recording oral histories of early jazz musicians. The musicians interviewed often gave or lent Driggs scrapbooks, photos and memorabilia, which he lovingly archived. The interviews and photos, widely published in Jazz Review and other publications, caught the eye of impresario John Hammond, who hired Driggs to produce reissues and new releases of American roots music for Columbia records. Digging deep into the vaults of Columbia , Driggs produced the first LP reissues of delta blues legend Robert Johnson. After leaving Columbia , Driggs went on to produce recordings for Epic, Okeh, MCA, Stash, and Time-Life Records, before reviving the Bluebird label for RCA Victor in the early 1970s. During his 25 years in the business, Driggs won several Record of the Year awards, capped in 1991 by a Grammy for Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings . All the while, Driggs continued documenting the evolution of jazz by recording oral histories and collecting photos, amassing a collection of well over 100,000 images. Over the years, Driggs has published widely and penned liner notes for hundreds of recordings. He contributed the chapter on Kansas City and Southwestern jazz for Nat Hentoff's and Albert J. McCarthy's landmark jazz history Jazz: New Perspectives on the History of Jazz by Twelve of the World's Foremost Jazz Critics and Scholars . In 1982, Driggs, along with Harris Lewine, published Black Beauty, White Heat , a striking pictorial history of jazz culled from Drigg's collection. Countless researchers, publishers and record companies have drawn upon Drigg's massive collection of photos and memorabilia. Most recently, Driggs and his collection served as the principal resource for Ken Burn's Jazz , a history of jazz, broadcast by PBS. The oral histories donated to the Archives were conducted from 1956 to 1986. A host of musicians and band leaders who defined the jazz tradition relate stories regarding the development of jazz, ranging from musical triumphs to hardships on the road during the Great Depression. The collection is rich in oral histories from the likes of Andy Kirk, Buster Smith Gene Ramey, Thamon Hayes, Jesse Stone and Ed Lewis, a reflection of Drigg's interest in Southwestern and Kansas City jazz. Many of the oral histories in the Driggs collection survive as the only known record of a musician's experiences and voice. The 375 oral histories, housed in the Marr Sound Archives, have been inventoried and are available to the public. The inventory is available on line at http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/marr.html For information about the Frank Driggs Jazz Oral History Collection contact Chuck Haddix, Marr Sound Archives, Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 800 E. 51st Street , Kansas City , MO 64110 , (816) 235-2798, haddixc@umkc.edu. RETURN TO JUNE/JULY 2004 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2004. All rights reserved.